Hoothoot Line/HGSS
Hoothoot is available in the following locations at night: Routes 29, 30, 31, 35, 36, 37, and National Park. Hoothoot is also available during the day, on Headbutt trees, in the following locations: Routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 21, 26, 27, 32, 34, 38, 39 and 43, Ilex Forest, Lake of Rage, New Bark Town, Cherrygrove City, Violet City, Ecruteak City, Pallet Town, Viridian City, Pewter City, Cerulean City, Fuchsia City, and the Safari Zone Gate, as well as the locations listed above. In some of the aforementioned locations, Noctowl also appears in the wild. The early game bird got a massive upgrade compared to the previous Johto generation. Noctowl's not-at-all-bad Special Attack finally gets to see some use with its wide enough special movepool, offering options such as Extrasensory and Air Slash by level up, as well as other nifty moves of the Shadow Ball kind via TM. While hard (or rather, boring) to train until it evolves, Noctowl's uniqueness as a specially oriented early game Pokémon, as well as its Insomnia ability (for those that have it) make it a strategic asset in a good number of fights, as well as a very good Poison terminator. However, Noctowl is by no means a Pokémon that can simply muscle through a fight on sheer power alone; any Noctowl players will need patience, and sometimes a good amount of strategy, to make the most out of this Pokémon. Important Matchups Johto * Gym #1 - Falkner (Violet City, Flying-type): Hoothoot can easily bypass Pidgey's Sand-Attack with a combination of Foresight and an offensive move that is not Uproar, preferably Peck. It can also put Pidgey to sleep before attacking. Foresight and Hypnosis are a good combo to temporarily neutralise Pidgeotto as well, though its superior bulk and offensive power, jointed with Roost, make it a nearly unwinnable match for Hoothoot in the long run. Hoothoot can, however, act as support for a teammate by putting the bird to sleep before switching out. * Proton (Slowpoke Well): Zubat will go down to two or three Pecks. Koffing has a much higher Defense than Special Defense, which may make Uproar tempting, but the move is actually very dangerous to use: Koffing's Poison Gas and Smog can both poison Hoothoot, and its Tackle can quickly pile up damage together with the poisoning. Use Foresight and Hypnosis, then whittle it down with Peck, or just switch out. * Gym #2 - Bugsy (Azalea Town, Bug-type): The best moveset for this fight is Foresight, Hypnosis, Peck and Reflect. By using Hypnosis first and having Scyther fall asleep, or U-turn, Hoothoot can set up Reflect and maintain it throughout the fight against the cocoons, which cannot harm much of anything. It is still a very risky gamble: if either Hypnosis misses or Scyther does not use U-turn, but sticks to Quick Attack instead, even worse if it also throws Focus Energy and Leer in the mix, Reflect will not shield Hoothoot from crits and its low Defense will do it no favours. In general terms, it is better to either evolve into Noctowl or rely on a stronger Pokémon to fight Scyther. * Rival (Azalea Town): While Gastly cannot inflict direct damage to Hoothoot, it can use Mean Look and Curse to deplete its PP, and Peck is not really a strong move; fight it only if equipped with healing items, and preferably use a teammate either way. Zubat will be similarly annoying with Supersonic, if it hits, but Hoothoot can get the upper hand by using Foresight, Hypnosis and possibly setting up Reflect before spamming Peck. Bayleef is the only starter Hoothoot can reasonably fight; Croconaw's offensive presence is too strong, and Quilava's combination of Ember and Quick Attack is hard to get the best of. Try as it may, Hoothoot is too slow and not strong enough to get the best of either of them. * Gym #3 - Whitney (Goldenrod City, Normal-type): Hoothoot may have a chance against Clefairy with Foresight and Hypnosis, but DoubleSlap hits much harder than any of Hoothoot's attacks and Clefairy's Metronome could easily pull a super effective move. Reflect will help, but only so long as Clefairy does not score critical hits and/or Metronome copies a strong special move that deals super effective damage, such as Thunder or Blizzard. Noctowl fares better against Clefairy, having higher bulk. Both have little to no chances against Miltank's Rollout and Stomp combination, which can also induce flinching, especially since Noctowl's Peck will be at best a 4HKO and Miltank's Milk Drink will easily turn an already difficult battle into an overly tedious stallfest that the owl is bound to lose. * Rival (Burned Tower): Noctowl can beat Gastly and Zubat easily with two Confusions each. Magnemite will likely deal more damage with SonicBoom than ThunderShock, but Noctowl will still not deal it much damage as it resists all of its moves, so Noctowl should leave this fight to a better suited teammate. Bayleef is an easy target, and Quilava is doable with Reflect support, which helps reduce the damage intake from Flame Wheel; Croconaw is best avoided, however, as its Ice Fang is very strong and comes close to a 2HKO, meaning a net OHKO as a critical hit. * Gym #4 - Morty (Ecruteak City, Ghost-type): A single Confusion will off Gastly, or two at worst. Both of the Haunter will be OHKOed or 2HKOed by Confusion, depending on whether they use Curse or not; the level 21 one has Hypnosis, which is best healed right away, both because of its Dream Eater and to avoid leaving Noctowl exposed to potential Curse damage. This is, of course, not a problem for any Noctowl with Insomnia. For Gengar, it is best to have a Noctowl without Curse on, as Noctowl will likely need to make it waste some of its Sucker Punch PP before Noctowl start hitting; Gengar's Attack is not great, but neither is Noctowl's Defense, and Sucker Punch has high base damage, which amounts to a rough 4HKO on average. After the Sucker Punch PP are over, there is no danger in just spamming Confusion, so have at it. * Eusine (Cianwood City): Use Peck or Uproar, and have patience, against Drowzee. Its Hypnosis and Dream Eater combo will trouble specimens with Keen Eye, though Insomnia carriers and Noctowl that are relying on Uproar are safe from this. Haunter goes down in two hits, or one after a Curse. Switch out against Electrode, as it sports both Rollout and Thunder. * Gym #5 - Chuck (Cianwood City, Fighting-type): The usefulness of Noctowl here depends on its moves and ability. A Noctowl with Air Slash can OHKO Primeape if holding a Choice Specs, though it will need luck to do so, as Primeape will outspeed and likely Double Team on the first turn. Air Slash is most needed against Poliwrath as well, but the ability Insomnia is far more important: since Poliwrath relies on a combination of Hypnosis and Focus Punch, a Noctowl with Insomnia can only be hit by Surf or Body Slam, and the latter is only a problem if it causes paralysis. On the other hand, a Keen Eye Noctowl is at a serious risk against Poliwrath, as Focus Punch will chip away the vast majority of its health if it strikes - or all of it, if it crits. Noctowl can try using Substitute on the first turn hoping for Hypnosis, if Noctowl is holding an item other than the Choice Specs, but at that point, the fight becomes a dangerous prediction game. * Gym #6 - Jasmine (Olivine City, Steel-type): Noctowl will not go anywhere in this gym. The Magnemite have Thunderbolt, and Steelix will take next to no damage and respond with Iron Tail. Do not use Noctowl here. * Petrel (Team Rocket HQ): Confusion should dispose of Zubat and Koffing easily, and if Noctowl already has Air Slash and/or is holding the Choice Specs, that will be even easier. Raticate is a slightly bigger issue due to Sucker Punch, in case Noctowl takes damage before fighting it, but this should not happen since Petrel's team is at a lower level than Morty's; Sucker Punch barely manages to 5HKO, so Noctowl can more than take some damage before it beats Raticate. * Ariana (Team Rocket HQ, tag battle with Lance): Noctowl manages to put up a good fight if sporting Air Slash, especially with the Choice Specs attached. Murkrow outspeeds it and can use Pursuit to keep it from safely switching out, but its strongest move - Wing Attack - is only a 3-4HKO against Noctowl, which in turn can either 2HKO or OHKO with Air Slash, depending on whether the Choice Specs are being held or not. The best course of action is to defeat Arbok first, then Drowzee and Grimer, then healing as needed before Gloom goes down, so that Murkrow's moves will pose no threat to Noctowl. * Gym #7 - Pryce (Mahogany Town, Ice-type): Everything has STAB Ice moves, which makes the matchup very difficult for Noctowl; nevertheless, it can do some work in this gym. Seel is manageable thanks to the low power of its moves, as well as being a pure Water-type; Noctowl can 2HKO it with Air Slash, though this is only guaranteed by holding the Choice Specs. Dewgong's Aurora Beam is also outdamaged by Choice Specs-boosted Air Slash, a 3HKO; however, Ice Shard deals as much damage as Aurora Beam considering Noctowl's comparative stats, and it can become a very real threat for a wounded owl: heal as needed if Noctowl is fighting Dewgong. Piloswine is impossible for Noctowl, it can survive up to two hits and its Blizzard and Ice Fang can both kill Noctowl from full health with critical hits. * Petrel (Goldenrod Radio Tower): Air Slash will OHKO the Koffing if Noctowl has the Choice Specs attached. Weezing is much more dangerous, as it can take one hit and retaliate with Explosion; do not come close to it unless Noctowl somehow already has Extrasensory, and is holding the aforementioned item. Even then, the OHKO is by no means secured, so run calculations before battling Weezing; its Explosion is guaranteed to kill Noctowl, if it can survive an Extrasensory. * Rival (Goldenrod Underground): Air Slash will easily dispose of Golbat and Haunter, 2HKOing both of them (there is an OHKO chance against Haunter) with the Choice Specs attached, but watch out for Golbat's Confuse Ray or, if Air Slash misses, Haunter's Curse and Mean Look trap. Sneasel has Icy Wind, but Noctowl's special bulk is more than enough to take it; its Faint Attack actually outdamages Icy Wind, and only manages a 4HKO, so Noctowl can take on Sneasel in a pinch. Much like the other two Pokémon, Air Slash can 2HKO Sneasel with Choice Specs support. Meganium and Quilava should be easy opponents. Magnemite and Feraligatr have super effective moves and Magnemite also resists any move Noctowl may have learned at this point, so do not bother with them. * Proton (Goldenrod Radio Tower): Air Slash again. Neither Golbat nor Weezing have particularly scary moves here, and Weezing notably lacks both Selfdestruct and Explosion, so Noctowl should be fine. The only potential danger is Golbat spamming Confuse Ray, which can be circumvented with enough Full Heals. * Ariana (Goldenrod Radio Tower): Arbok and Vileplume can be beaten easily with Air Slash, though Arbok will retaliate with a Crunch before going down. If it uses Glare, make sure to heal Noctowl as soon as possible, as paralysis cripples Noctowl's potential. After Vileplume, the infamous Pursuit Murkrow comes; once again, if Noctowl is weakened, heal as needed instead of switching out, otherwise shoot for the Air Slash OHKO with the Choice Specs. * Archer (Goldenrod Radio Tower): Houndour and Koffing pose no big threat; Air Slash them. Houndoom, on the other hand, deals as much damage with Crunch as Noctowl does with Air Slash and the Choice Specs, and the bad news is that Noctowl is slower than it. Use a physically sturdy Pokémon or a Pokémon that resists Dark moves, if the team has one; if not, prepare a teammate that can pick up the fight from where Noctowl left off, as it will need to be switched out after at most two hits. * Gym #8 - Clair (Blackthorn City, Dragon-type): Noctowl's special bulk and high HP serve it well against Gyarados, whose scariest move is Bite. It will take time to defeat it, but Noctowl can make it; with the Choice Specs, Air Slash is a 3HKO. The two Dragonair should not be a big issue, either; both can be 2HKOed by Choice Specs-boosted Air Slash, though they also have Thunder Wave to annoy Noctowl. Kingdra is another story: it needs to be taken down as soon as possible with a better suited Pokémon, because a single critical hit will kill Noctowl from full health, thanks to Kingdra's Sniper. * Kimono Girls (Ecruteak Dance Theater): Noctowl is a good opponent for Umbreon and Espeon, thanks to its special bulk, and should be able to defeat them with Air Slash and Shadow Ball respectively. The Choice Specs are needed, as Shadow Ball will not 2HKO Espeon without them, and Espeon's Psychic is a 3HKO. Flareon is only threatening after it gets access to Last Resort; if Noctowl manages to take it down sooner, it will not be harmed much, but have a physical wall ready in case Noctowl needs to switch it out. Air Slash can 3HKO, but it can also miss. Jolteon, for obvious reasons, is off limits. Vaporeon does have Aurora Beam, but it dwindles between 3HKO and 4HKO against Noctowl, and Air Slash does slightly more damage; thanks to Noctowl's slightly higher Speed, the fight is winnable, but Noctowl will need to be healed a few times. Overall, leading with Noctowl is an okay option, in absence of better Kimono Girls counters. * Ho-Oh (Bell Tower, HeartGold only): Noctowl would not appreciate Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire. Unless there is no option other than putting it to sleep with Hypnosis and its shaky accuracy, Noctowl should not be used at all here. * Lugia (Whirl Islands, SoulSilver only): As Lugia's moveset is entirely special and its Special Attack is good, but not over the top, Noctowl does a great job at absorbing hits, even more so if it has Light Screen set up. Aeroblast is only a 3-4HKO, so Noctowl can wear Lugia down with Air Slash over time. * Rival (Victory Road): Sneasel has Icy Wind and Faint Attack, but much like the Goldenrod Underground fight, it can be bested with Choice Specs and Air Slash. Magneton has Spark and resists everything Noctowl may throw at it; Feraligatr has Ice Fang, as well. These two Pokémon are not suitable opponents for Noctowl, for obvious reasons. Typhlosion, Meganium and Kadabra, being specially-oriented, should be easier instead: the Choice Specs permit Noctowl to OHKO Kadabra with Shadow Ball, 2HKO Meganium with Air Slash, and either 2HKO or 3HKO Typhlosion also with Air Slash. Haunter and Golbat could be annoying if they use Confuse Ray as their first move, but otherwise they will be respectively OHKOed and 2HKOed by Extrasensory. As these calculations are all based on Choice Specs usage, Noctowl will likely not fight all of the rival's Pokémon, unless it switches out often to change its moves. * Elite Four Will (Indigo Plateau, Psychic-type): Noctowl's matchup in this fight is great if it is packing Shadow Ball, but otherwise becomes a mixed bag. The Xatu can confuse it, Jynx has Ice Punch, and Slowbro's Amnesia will quickly render Air Slash obsolete. Defeat all of Will's Pokémon as fast as can be; the Choice Specs are necessary to OHKO both of the Xatu with Shadow Ball, but Jynx and Slowbro are 2HKOs regardless. Exeggutor can be OHKOed, but only with Air Slash. Noctowl can, at any rate, take both an Ice Punch from Jynx and a Psychic from Slowbro, as the best they can do is 3HKO the owl. * Elite Four Koga (Indigo Plateau, Poison-type): A Choice Specs Noctowl can muscle past Ariados, Venomoth and Crobat with either Air Slash or Extrasensory, providing it manages to hit Crobat after its likely Double Teams. While Muk may be 2HKOed by Extrasensory with the Choice Specs, depending on Noctowl's Special Attack, Gunk Shot will always be a 2HKO and thus kill with a critical hit, so bear the risk in mind. Avoid Forretress due to Explosion, Noctowl cannot survive it. * Elite Four Bruno (Indigo Plateau, Fighting-type): A Choice Specs Noctowl works wonders against the three Hitmons with Air Slash, OHKOing them all. However, it is risky to use Noctowl against Hitmonlee unless Noctowl is certain to outspeed, as Hitmonlee has the highest Attack of all three and it also packs the move with the highest base power, Hi Jump Kick. Noctowl is only 2HKOed by it, but critical hits might kill, depending on the stats of the two Pokémon. Onix is not for Noctowl to fight. Machamp is strong and will never miss, aside from having Cross Chop which has a higher critical hit ratio than most moves; while Air Slash can 2HKO it, Noctowl will be risking its life in the event of a Cross Chop, so choose Noctowl's battles wisely. * Elite Four Karen (Indigo Plateau, Dark-type): Umbreon's Confuse Ray and Double Team will likely test Noctowl's patience, but the dispute can be won with enough Air Slashes. Vileplume is much easier to beat, as it can be OHKOed by simply having Noctowl hold the Choice Specs. Murkrow's Sucker Punch is only a 3HKO, but has priority; switch out or heal if Noctowl is hurt. Gengar has Destiny Bond and is faster, so do not fight it unless Noctowl can put it to sleep with Hypnosis and/or outspeed with the Choice Scarf; another good option is using a teammate to inflict paralysis on it first, as Noctowl can take Gengar's Focus Blasts very well - the best they can do is 3HKO. Houndoom is best avoided; Noctowl does not have enough raw power to off it quickly, and it becomes dangerous very fast if it starts using Nasty Plot. * Champion Lance (Indigo Plateau, Flying-type): Gyarados has Ice Fang, Aerodactyl has Rock Slide, and the level 49 Dragonite respectively have Thunder and Blizzard. Only Charizard, being a largely special sweeper, is a good fight for Noctowl, which can absorb its Air Slashes and fight back with the same move. Noctowl will generally 3HKO Charizard if the Choice Specs are being held; if not, it will require four hits and some healing, but it can still make it. Kanto From this point onwards, you can fight the gyms in any order, though you will need to retrieve the Machine Parts from the Cerulean City gym before you have access to the earlier portion of Kanto. Feel free to anticipate or postpone any battles as needed. * Gym #9 - Brock (Pewter City, Rock-type): With the exception of Rhyhorn, which lacks Rock STAB altogether, all of the other Pokémon on Brock's team are tough opponents for Noctowl and should not be fought by a bird Pokémon in general. Noctowl may attempt to put up a Reflect and whittle them down slowly with Extrasensory or Shadow Ball, hoping for the flinch or Special Defense drop respectively, but this strategy is not critical hit-proof and will take longer than just finding a better Brock counter, a trivial task considering the huge Grass and Water weaknesses of his team. * Rival (Mt. Moon, optional): Since Noctowl will have a level advantage here, it can set up Reflect against Sneasel before hitting it with Air Slash. This will simplify the fight against Golbat. Alakazam and Gengar are good opponents for Noctowl as well, which can take their hits just fine; Alakazam will 3HKO with Psychic, but Noctowl can 2HKO with Shadow Ball if supported by the Choice Specs (though this prevents Reflect setups). Gengar, however unable to damage Noctowl directly, can Curse-trap and use Confuse Ray, so bring healing items. Magneton has Discharge and Noctowl wants none of it. Feraligatr is the only dangerous starter; the other two should go down without too many problems, once again providing that Noctowl gets Choice Specs support. * Gym #10 - Misty (Cerulean City, Water-type): Noctowl can tank Golduck's and Quagsire's hits very well. Lapras and Starmie are another story, however, as both of them pack Ice Beam. Fighting Lapras is ill-advised unless Noctowl is healed very often, and even then, Noctowl's Air Slash will at best be a 4HKO with the Choice Specs attached; Lapras should just be handled by another Pokémon. With the Choice Specs, Shadow Ball will dispose of Starmie in exactly two hits, and Noctowl can take two Ice Beams unless they both roll for the maximum possible damage or thereabouts. Overall, Noctowl may be able to defeat Starmie in addition to the other two Pokémon Misty has, but should not attempt to take on Lapras alone. * Gym #11 - Lt. Surge (Vermilion City, Electric-type): Everything has Shock Wave and resists Noctowl's best move, Air Slash. Unless Noctowl has Heat Wave and can destroy the Magneton with it, it is better off not participating in this battle. * Gym #12 - Erika (Celadon City, Grass-type): With the sole exception being Tangela's AncientPower, which Noctowl can still reasonably take - or avoid altogether, by OHKOing it - all of Erika's Pokémon only have not very effective moves to hit Noctowl with. Attach the Choice Specs, spam Air Slash, and have a field day. * Gym #13 - Janine (Fuchsia City, Poison-type): A Noctowl armed with the Choice Specs can OHKO both of the Ariados and Venomoth with Air Slash, and also potentially 2HKO Crobat, depending on its level and/or Special Attack. Extrasensory or Psychic will deal more damage to Crobat, but less to the other three. In either case, Weezing should not be fought, since it cannot be OHKOed and knows Explosion, a move that is guaranteed to kill Noctowl despite its likely level advantage. * Gym #14 - Sabrina (Saffron City, Psychic-type): Noctowl can be used strategically in this fight, but not without dangers. For starters, Espeon will need a better counter, as Noctowl does not damage it fast enough to prevent Calm Mind spam from hitting the whole team very hard; Mr. Mime and Alakazam are better targets. For Mr. Mime (which has Filter) use Air Slash, while against Alakazam Noctowl should resort to Shadow Ball. Remember that Psychic still dents Noctowl's HP considerably when coming from Sabrina's ace, resulting in a 3HKO close to a 2HKO, so do not run any unnecessary risks and heal as needed. Noctowl's best option, if other counters are available for some of Sabrina's Pokémon, is to hold the Choice Specs and focus on either Mr. Mime or Alakazam, as the Choice Specs turn Air Slash into a 3HKO and Shadow Ball into a 2HKO respectively, enabling Noctowl to actually fight hassle-free; fighting both Pokémon is possible by switching out, but will require even more preparation, prediction and luck, as Noctowl is relatively slow and will need to stake out considerable damage. * Gym #15 - Blaine (Seafoam Islands, Fire-type): Noctowl is ill-suited to tank Magcargo's Rock Slide; it can 3HKO with the Choice Specs attached, but a Noctowl with lower-than-average Defense will be 2HKOed by Rock Slide before it can win. Similarly, Noctowl can 2-3HKO Magmar with Air Slash, but gets 2-3HKOed by its ThunderPunch in return, and how many hits it takes for Noctowl to go die is not only dependant on Noctowl's stats but also the whims of fate, as damage variation matters. Rapidash's Flare Blitz is even more powerful than ThunderPunch, resulting in a straight up kill if one of Blaine's Pokémon has put up Sunny Day previously. Overall, do not use Noctowl in this battle unless desperate; it is not terrible, but it will make the fight more difficult and potentially hinder its teammates if it takes too long to defeat Blaine's Pokémon. * Gym #16 - Blue (Viridian City): Noctowl's special bulk offers it a great matchup against Exeggutor, which it can OHKO with Air Slash and the Choice Specs. Pidgeot is sadly superior to it: its Return outdamages Noctowl's Air Slash notwithstanding the Choice Specs, and Pidgeot's Speed is also higher than Noctowl's; in addition, a critical Return may kill even from full health. The rest of Blue's team is entirely constructed around physical sweeping, which Noctowl is by no means fond of. Even the Choice Specs will not score an Air Slash OHKO against Machamp, let alone anything else, and Machamp can reply with a Stone Edge backed by No Guard. While a single Stone Edge will not kill a healthy Noctowl, its higher than average critical hit rate represents a very real threat for Noctowl's safety. Rhydon can OHKO Noctowl instead, and Arcanine 2HKOs it; Gyarados can only 3HKO, but Noctowl's hits deal it such a little amount of damage that even at a level disadvantage, Gyarados will use Noctowl as Dragon Dance fodder and then proceed to annihilate the whole team. Never use Noctowl against any of the last four Pokémon. * Rival (Indigo Plateau, optional): Air Slash and Shadow Ball will still dispose of most of the team without problems, though with the necessary switch-outs, as the Choice Specs are once again necessary to put out enough damage. The only exceptions are, as usual, Feraligatr which is packing Ice Fang, and Magneton which is packing Discharge. Gengar no longer has Curse-trap, but it can hit with Sludge Bomb; keep Noctowl's health high in the event of poisoning. * Red (Mt. Silver): Do not fight Pikachu, Lapras or Blastoise; all of them have super effective moves which, except in Blastoise's case, are also supported by STAB. While Blastoise's Blizzard is only marginally stronger than a Choice Specs-boosted Air Slash, Noctowl might be outsped by Blastoise and if the hail is still up, Blizzard will never miss, resulting in a decisive disadvantage for Noctowl. Snorlax is potentially an okay target since Noctowl can outspeed and put up Reflect, but a critical hit will kill the owl, so pick a physical wall if Noctowl has one; even if Noctowl did manage to beat Snorlax, it would take far too many hits, factoring in Red's likely healing. In addition to that, Snorlax also does have Blizzard; while not very threatening coming off its low Special Attack, resulting only in a 3-4HKO, it is nevertheless a weapon more powerful than anything Noctowl has. Venusaur should be easy to fight, 2HKOed by Air Slash (guaranteed with Choice Specs, probable but not guaranteed with other items) before Sludge Bomb can deal much of anything in the way of damage. Charizard's Flare Blitz is strong and Charizard is fast; even if Noctowl managed to put up Reflect, it would be uncovered for the first turn, and critical hits would still constitute a very real risk which make this matchup just not worth the trouble. Moves Hoothoot's initial moveset consists of Tackle, Growl and Foresight. It learns Hypnosis at level 5, which has poor accuracy, but is great for catching. Peck comes at level 9, which is only slightly better than Tackle. Uproar, at level 13, is the long awaited special STAB, but comes with the inconvenient drawback of locking Hoothoot into its execution until the uproar is over; use it with much caution. Reflect, at level 17, is an excellent defensive move, which complements the line's lacking physical bulk very well. As Noctowl, it learns Confusion at level 22, at long last, which is a good special move. Take Down, at level 27, should preferably be ignored because its recoil and imperfect accuracy, jointed with its physical nature, make it a less than useful move. Air Slash comes at level 32, and is one of the best moves Noctowl learns by level, if not in absolute. Ignore Zen Headbutt at level 37, and take Extrasensory at level 42 instead; unless Noctowl is Adamant, Zen Headbutt will never deal more damage than Extrasensory. Psycho Shift, at level 47, is not worth the moveslot. Roost comes at level 52, but has no use in runs where healing items are not limited, whereas it can be an excellent asset in limited or no-healing runs. Lastly, Dream Eater is learned at level 57, but will not do any good in absence of a sleeping move, and Hypnosis is not good enough to cover that, due to its poor accuracy. Noctowl's obvious TM options are Psychic and Shadow Ball. Psychic is not entirely necessary, since Extrasensory will do well enough on its own, but is still nice to have if Noctowl can afford the power-up and the nuzlocke continues Kanto as well. Shadow Ball has insane coverage and good power, and makes Noctowl a perfect ghost-killing machine. Noctowl can be taught Roost and Dream Eater via TM as well, but as mentioned, neither move is particularly useful (unless, for Roost only, the nuzlocke rules impose healing restrictions). While Noctowl does get further coverage, the rest of the available moves are all physical in nature, and would thus run off a poor Attack stat. For stall/annoyer/support sets, Toxic is a valid option. If Noctowl wants even more coverage, consider Hidden Power, depending on typing. Lastly, for players who continue their nuzlocke after Lance, there is a great tutor option available in the form of Heat Wave. Recommended moveset: Reflect, Air Slash, Shadow Ball, Extrasensory / Psychic / Heat Wave Recommended Teammates * Ground-types: Although Ground-types introduce an additional Ice weakness on the team, they are by far the best possible answer to both Electric- and Rock-types, which plague Noctowl's dreams. A dual Ground-type that sports neutrality to Ice moves is a preferable option, but in absence of that possibility, even a regular Ground-type will work well. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Golem, Sandslash, Quagsire, Nidoqueen, Nidoking, Mamoswine, Donphan, Rhydon (Rhyperior) * Steel-types: Anything Steel is excellent to complement Noctowl. Steel-types offer an additional Rock resistance and can respond to Ice moves very well, something Ground-types cannot do. While Steel-types are few and far in between in Johto, the few that are available are typically not difficult to find and catch. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Steelix, Forretress, Scizor, Magneton Other Hoothoot's stats Noctowl's stats * What Nature do I want? Since Noctowl does not use its physical Attack at all, any nature that lowers Attack is good by default. The best are Bold and Calm for support sets, and Modest and Timid for sweeping sets. * Which Ability do I want? Insomnia comes in handy more often than Keen Eye. However, Keen Eye does have its use against Clair. Overall, the difference is not great. * At what point in the game should I be evolved? Having a Noctowl before the Whitney battle helps, though Miltank will still be dangerous. At the latest, Hoothoot should evolve after Whitney. * How good is the Hoothoot line in a Nuzlocke? It is very good against a lot of opponents, especially for an early game catch. Noctowl is quite capable of handling the best part of most boss fights by itself, and can also give some support to the team for the Pokémon it cannot take on. While its damage output will likely never be very amazing, it has the bulk to survive enemy hits and will do fine with healing items or Roost. There is not much a properly set up Noctowl cannot do; it only takes some time. * Weaknesses: Electric, Ice, Rock * Resistances: Bug, Grass * Immunities: Ground, Ghost * Neutralities: Normal, Fighting, Flying, Poison, Steel, Fire, Water, Psychic, Dragon, Dark Category:HeartGold/SoulSilver